Mighty Bomb Jack
A 1986 platform sequel with action zones and Royal Palace rooms.
Tecmo released Mighty Bomb Jack, a platform game, for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986. This title follows up on their 1984 arcade game Bomb Jack. Later ports brought it to the Amiga, Atari ST, and Commodore 64.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Tecmo
- Publisher
- Tecmo JP, Nintendo (arcade)
- Director
- Hideo Yoshizawa
- Composer
- Tsukasa Masuko; Michiharu Hasuya
- Platforms
- Arcade
- NES
- Amiga
- Atari ST
- Commodore 64
- Genre
- Platform
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
- Arcade system
- Nintendo VS. System
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Each level is divided into an action zone and a Royal Palace room, with the latter's mechanics and level designs taken directly from Bomb Jack. Action zones may consist of several portions and contain power-ups hidden in treasure chests, including money bags, Mighty Coins and Mighty Drinks. Mighty Coins let Jack change color: blue opens orange chests, orange opens any chest by touching it from the side, and green turns all enemies into coins for five seconds. Mighty Drinks add ten seconds to the timer. Secret passages are activated by finding a Sphinx in a visible or hidden chest. If the player obtains more than nine Mighty Coins or 99 seconds on the timer, the game sends them to a Torture Room. To escape without losing a life, the player must complete a number of jumps counted down on screen. Upon exiting, Jack loses all Mighty Coins, the timer resets to 60 seconds, and the game restarts from the beginning of the current level.
Development
Hideo Yoshizawa made his directorial debut with this title. In PAL-A territories, the NES version saw release exclusively in Australia. It later arrived on the Wii Virtual Console on May 7, 2007, followed by the Nintendo 3DS on December 6, 2012, and the Wii U on January 23, 2014. The Nintendo Classics service added it in November 2018. Bandai produced a board game adaptation in 1986. A Nintendo VS. System arcade version appeared in Japan. That version introduced a two-player mode, relocated certain secret passages, and eliminated a warp found in the Royal Palace rooms.
Reception
In Japan, the game sold over 1.5 million copies by 1987, making it Hideo Yoshizawa's biggest commercial hit until surpassed by Ninja Gaiden. In North America, Computer Entertainer gave it a positive review with a score of 7.5 out of 8 stars, the same as The Legend of Zelda in the same issue, calling it a fast-paced adventure-action game loaded with nuances. The Virtual Console re-releases received mixed-to-negative reviews; GameSpot described the game as repetitive and broken, while Eurogamer called it kind of clever but not exactly deep. IGN deemed the Wii Virtual Console version a poor candidate for time investment. Nintendo Life criticized the platforming and level design, noting that enemy behavior is almost random, but praised the secrets for replay value and the game's sense of humor.
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